Friday, April 27, 2018

The Hard Swallow (aka Big Lee's) reopened last month at 140 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street... and the bar is holding its grand re-opening party tomorrow (Saturday!) night at 8:30.

The no-frills bar had been closed for more than a year as husband-and-wife owners Leroy “Big Lee” and Maria "Sasha" Lloyd (pictured above) were locked in a legal battle with the previous owners. The Lloyds also had to go before CB3 and the SLA for a new liquor license. (This archived DNAinfo piece from March 2017 has all the background.)

The bar opened in the summer of 2015 in the former Spanky and Darla's space. Big Lee is a former doorman/bouncer at Hogs & Heifers as well as Coney Island High on St. Mark's Place (he is also originally from Coney Island).

A visit to archives

Text and photos by Stacie Joy When I meet up with David Prettyman and Jazz P. Souisay, the co-owners of Bali Kitchen , it’s late on a we...

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